Out For Blood
by Dragonmuse
Summary: Eleven years ago a young jounin fled her world on the eve of war to give her unborn daughter a chance for a peaceful existence, only to find that their new world is destabilizing as well. Now a fledgling shinobi must prepare to confront Orochimaru and locate her missing father using a wizard's education, while concealing her heritage from those who would exploit her. **ON HIATUS**
1. Chapter 1

" _Mother, is ninjutsu the same as magic_?"

Akaihane Hibari pressed her mouth into a thin line, and looked at her small black haired daughter. " _We don't talk about that here. When we get home_."

" _But no one can understand what we're saying!_ "

Hibari's eyes narrowed.

Suzume bowed her head. "Yes mother," she muttered in English.

The young witch was used to her mother not answering questions. She couldn't stay preoccupied with her disappointment long at any rate. Not somewhere like Diagon Alley. She'd never seen so many wonders in one place. Cages full of owls hung from the eaves of a magic pet shop. Suzume quickly checked over the parchment clutched in her hands.

"It says I can bring a pet. Can Tsuchibue come? He's sort of like a cat."

"Unless it says foxes are allowed, I wouldn't count on it. Besides, there are time limits to how long summoning animals can stay with us."

She tried to swallow her disappointment. Then again, maybe they wouldn't notice a fox. He looked mostly like a regular fox anyway, she could visit him outside and if anyone asked her just pretend he was a wild animal. Though, she'd have to remind him not to speak in front of anybody.

It was weird. Some people in this world were witches and wizards, they performed all kinds of wonders using what they called "magic", yet they weren't accustomed to something as normal as a speaking animal. Not that talking animals were super common, but Mom said a lot of families in her home world had contracts with summoning animals. Even talking slugs.

Suzume had never seen that world though. She was born here in Britain.

She wondered what it would be like to live in a place where the other children were like her. Where she didn't have to hide her heritage and be cautious not to use jutsus or chakra enhanced movement around other people. Even the witches and wizards didn't move like her mother and uncle Hayato could, though the wizarding grownups could apparate. That was pretty cool.

Uncle Hayato told her about how he and mom used to play, leaping across the rooftops and canals in their village with the rest of their friends.

Colorful buildings towered around her. She looked up wistfully, knowing it would attract too much attention to go bounding up the sides of Flourish and Blotts right then. Shinobi weren't supposed to attract attention. Mom only let her do that sort of thing in the forest, when it was dark.

Mom attracted attention though. She was pretty. She also didn't look much like most people, except for uncle. Their hair was red. Not ginger red. Real red like a candy apple. Their eyes were golden too. People tended to give them weird looks. Even some of the wizards.

Not Suzume though. Her eyes and hair were boring black. It blended in. Her mother was happy about that. She said it would have been troublesome if Suzume had taken after the Akaihane side of the family.

One wizard regarded them with a shrewd look. He was tall, with long neat white hair and carried a cane even though he seemed young and didn't really need it. There was a white haired boy with him that looked about Suzume's age. They had fancy clothes. Suzume's family had fancy clothes too, but with a decidedly eastern flair.

"I don't recall seeing you before." He graciously offered a gloved hand to Uncle Hayato. "My name is Lucius Malfoy. This is my son Draco. Is this your first time in Diagon Alley?"

Uncle shook his hand. His cheeks flushed almost as red as his close cropped beard, and he stammered back in his heavy accent, "No, just, we are buying a wand."

Mr. Malfoy's sharp gaze darted from Uncle, then to Suzume. They focused on the supply list clutched in her hands.

"My son Draco is beginning school, and we are on our way to purchase supplies as well. I would be happy to assist you in finding your way around. "

Uncle's face lit up. He bowed out of habit.

"Thank you! I am Hayato Akaihane," then gestured to Suzume's mother who had wandered off, distracted by a display of cauldrons. "My sister, Hibari Akaihane." Then put a heavy hand on top of Suzume's head. "And my niece, Suzume."

Uncle and Mr. Malfoy wandered ahead of her, chatting back and forth. Apparently Mr. Malfoy was on the board of governors for her new school, and he claimed it was one of the finest in the world. Uncle was careful how much information he disclosed. " _Hibari and I were homeschooled_ ," in response to being asked where he attended school, though he did give the real name of their home village when asked where he was from. _Uzushiogakure_.

"Were they not satisfied with the quality of the wizarding schools available?" Mr. Malfoy asked. Clearly he was probing for some information, but Suzume wasn't sure what.

Draco trailed along with Suzume, but he wasn't very interested in talking. He mostly seemed bored, except when they passed a shopfront full of broomsticks. Mom caught up with them, taking Suzume by the hand and smiling at Draco. She carried a new copper cauldron for herself in her other hand, as easily as if it was a silk purse.

Uncle strolled ahead, hands clasped behind his back. "You know how demanding parents are. They wanted to give us an early start, and by the time we were school age it made more sense to continue at home. Besides, they felt that we ought to be more familiar with, darker spells than the school approved. Solely for defensive purposes of course."

Mr. Malfoy nodded and visibly relaxed. "Well, it is certainly refreshing to know my son will be attending school with at least one other student from a respectable wizarding family," he said. "Ah, here is Mr. Ollivander's shop. You will find that he is one of the finest, if not _the_ finest wandmaker in the world.

Best school _and_ best wandmaker in the world, thought Suzume. Pretty dang presumptuous.

The wand shop felt dark and closed in compared to the wide bright street they'd left. It smelled like oil and sawdust. A thin, white haired man stood behind the counter. He greeted them, and laid out several open boxes on the counter.

"So, you're beginning school at Hogwarts this year," he said. It was a statement, not a question.

Draco stepped forward. "I like that one." He reached out a hand and recoiled it in shock when the wand snapped a spark at him.

Mr. Ollivander put it away. "I should explain that when you purchase a wand, you don't just pick out any wand you like. The wand must choose the witch or wizard. Here, try this one instead."

He reached for another. This time it didn't spark at him, but Mr. Ollivander didn't let him keep hold of it either. They went through half a dozen wands like that, until finally Draco lifted a handsome hawthorne and unicorn hair wand from its box. He smiled as it showered them with glistening silver sparks.

Suzume's mother kept a hand on her shoulder, hand tightening when Draco found his match. Mr. Malfoy paid, then guided his grinning son to the side so that Suzume could have a try.

She tentatively reached for a short black wand lying in an open box. It felt heavy and cold in her hand. Mr. Ollivander whisked it away and pushed another into its place.

A dozen wands rejected her in various ways, some just refusing to acknowledge her completely, and some of them alarmingly destructive. Mr. Ollivander hurriedly put out the flames set by her latest rejection, and bustled to the back room to retrieve more boxes.

Other children came and went through the shop. Most of the other children were chosen by wands in the first few tries, sometimes demonstrated by gentle showers of glittering light, one even by a spray of flowers. Uncle Hayato, getting the hint that something was not right, quietly struck up a conversation with the increasingly curious Mr. Malfoy and convinced him to show uncle the way to the book shop.

After they left, Suzume began to panic. _What if I'm not a witch after all? What if the letter was a mistake? What if jutsus and spells are too different, and I'm not actually magical?_ Tears pricked at her eyes, and she fought to keep them at bay. She didn't really want to leave mom for months, but all the same she was starting to look forward to magic school.

Mr. Ollivander noticed her distress and smiled kindly at her. "Don't give up yet. We haven't gone through _all_ my wands yet. Once in a while I get someone like you"

After 3 more hours went by, even Mr. Ollivander was starting to look worried.

Suzume wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I think there was a mistake," she sniffed. "I'm probably not a witch after all."

The wandmaker shook his head. "No, the letters don't go out by mistake. You are a witch. But for some reason none of my wands fit. It's as if they just don't-," he waved his hand, searching for a word. "Resonate."

"What do you recommend?" Uncle asked. He had finished gathering the rest of Suzume's school supplies and returned, minus the nosy wizard.

"There are other wandmakers in Britain," he said. "You could try those, though I have my doubts about them. In the past it wasn't uncommon for wizards and witches to present a core material to a wandmaker that was connected to them in some way. I don't do that anymore as there is no guarantee the wand would bond with you, but perhaps it is worth a try."

"What sort of things go into the core?" mom asked.

"I exclusively use dragon heartstring, unicorn tail hair, and phoenix feather," he said. "Those being the most powerful and reliable cores. Some have used lesser substances, such as veela hair."

Mom hesitated, then reached into her purse and pulled out a rolled up piece of brown tissue paper. She handed it to Mr. Ollivander, who carefully folded it open and examined whatever was inside.

"This might work. It looks rather plain, but-" he closed his eyes for a moment, "it feels like it may make a suitable core. What is the connection?"

"It was her father's."

Suzume snapped her head around to look at mom. Uncle looked at her curiously too. Mom's expression was deadpan, giving nothing away.

"That may be good enough. I will need some time to find the right wood for this core. Write your address here and I will notify you when it's ready."

Mom jotted something down on a paper, thanked Mr. Ollivander, and they left. It was already starting to get dark.


	2. Chapter 2

The days crept by. Suzume sat at the kitchen table, cutting wild yam into cubes and trying not to think about her wand. She tried not to worry about what would happen if Mr. Ollivander didn't finish it in time, or if it just plain didn't choose her. It had already been two weeks since they'd dropped off the core.

What would happen if she didn't have a wand at school? Would they send her home? She was certain she could learn some things without a wand. She could perform jutsus with hand seals, which was probably similar enough. Maybe she could adapt their spells to hand seals.

But then, that would make her stand out. Mom and uncle didn't want her standing out.

"Mom, what did you give Mr. Ollivander for my wand?"

Her mother's expression froze, though she kept going through the motions of chopping vegetables for dinner.

"What did you have of dad's? Who _was_ dad?"

"It was nothing Suzume, just a feather." Her mom turned away from her to dump chopped carrots and daikon into a pot on the stove.

"What kind of feather? Was it really magic?"

"Your father had a summoning contract with crows, and I happened to have a feather from one of them."

Excitement stirred within her. This was the most mom had said about her dad in a long, long time.

"Do you think it will work?"

Mom shrugged. "When Mr. Ollivander said something about the cores not resonating, I thought it was worth a try. Though, maybe we should have given him one of Tsuchibue's whiskers or something. I think just about anything from our old world has a better chance at resonating with your chakra than material from this world."

She watched mom work, trying to sense what kind of mood she was in, and how much she might reveal. Nobody wrapped stuff in tissue paper and carried it around with them, unless it was important.

"Do you think I will ever meet him?"

"Suzume, I am trying to cook. Go bother your uncle."

Well, that conversation was over. She shuffled upstairs to her room and pulled some textbooks out of her wooden trunk. She'd already skimmed through them all, then gone back and started rereading the transfiguration text more in depth. Uncle Hayato had also bought some extra books that looked interesting. To him anyway.

This time she opened the potions text to the first chapter. That was a completely foreign subject to her. Three paragraphs in, something loud thudded into her window. She jumped, then stared at the tawny owl nibbling at the glass.

 _Why didn't I sense it before it got here?_

It fluttered self importantly when she opened the window and untied the letter from its leg.

 _Dear Ms. Akaihane,_

 _The wand you commissioned is complete. Please come at your convenience._

 _Best Regards,_

 _Mr. Garrick Olivander_

A thrill went through her as she read the words. She tore downstairs, almost colliding with uncle at the bottom. He sidestepped her neatly and caught her by the arm.

"Where are you headed?"

"My wand's done!" She waved the letter in his face. "Can we get it now? It says ' _at your convenience_ '."

Uncle frowned. "Right now isn't very convenient. Your mother is making dinner, and I was in the middle of something."

Suzume clasped her hands together, giving uncle her best, most practiced, pleading look. He balked, wavering for a moment, then shook his head.

"Tomorrow Suzume. It's late."

Defeated, she slogged back up the stairs. What if the wand didn't choose her? Would she even be allowed at school? Or would they just send her home?

She woke early the following day. So early, it was still dark. Birds were singing anyway. She crawled to her window, pulled herself up and set her chin on the sill. An undercurrent of tension ran through her. Desperate for someone to talk to, she bit her finger open and made the summoning handseals.

In a puff of smoke, Tsuchibue appeared. He was a small ginger fox wearing a red bib. " _Konichiwa, Suzume-chan,_ " he drawled in a deep, resonant voice that would have surprised most people. Two lush tails coiled around his legs like a luxurious cushion.

"Good morning, Tsuchibue."

"Am I practicing English today?" he asked.

"If you want. I can't sleep. Mom and uncle are making me wait to get my wand. Well, it's not mine yet. Wands have to pick the people that use them. You can't just buy one."

"Interesting," he said, bounding to her bedside where the textbooks lay open. He regarded the transfiguration book, flipped through several pages with his paw and sniffed in disdain. "This is very rudimentary."

"It's for human children. Plus you can't even read romaji."

He sniffed and straightened out the bib. "You're supposed to teach me that. Anyway, I can tell from looking at the pictures. That's a baby book."

"Fine. You teach me something better, and I'll help you with reading."

The fox snorted. "You lazy, your basics are still lacking. At your age, your mother was a chunnin. You'd barely graduate from a ninja academy at your level."

Suzume laid her head on the window frame. Light was just starting to creep over the horizon. "None of the wands wanted me," she said suddenly. "I tried every one in the shop."

"You just said your mother was making you wait."

"The wandmaker is trying to make one for me. But he doesn't know if it will want me either. He said the others didn't _resonate_." She screwed up her face at the word. Stupid wands and their not resonating.

"Why is this new wand different?"

"Mom gave him something for the core. She said it was a feather from one of dad's crow summons."

Tsuchibue nodded, "If the issue is the wand not resonating with your chakra, it makes sense to use a material which will."

"Mom said we should have given him one of your whiskers."

He stroked his whiskers thoughtfully. "I _am_ pretty magical," he said. "Though the feather was a good choice. Since our contracts are signed in blood, and we summon animals can recognize the chakra of whoever is attempting to summon us with that blood, there is a strong connection between all the elements involved. If your father had a contract with the crows, and you have similar blood and chakra, then perhaps the feather will recognize that."

She felt much better after Tsuchibue explained. He even offered to come along, claiming he was bored and interested in what happened.

In the end, his time ran out before mom was ready to leave for London. Mom said it wasn't a good idea to bring him out in public anyway.

The two grownups took their sweet time getting ready. Then postponed even longer since it was so close to lunchtime at that point. After they ate and _finally_ were ready to leave, Suzume stepped outside with her family. She wore a jumper. Mom was extra beautiful in a floral silk sundress. Uncle did his best to blend in with both the wizards and muggles by wearing a linen suit and straw hat to cover his hair.

"You look like a farmer," mom said.

"Girls have it easy," he complained. "Nobody looks at you funny with your outlandish hair color."

She shrugged, and took Suzume's hand. "It doesn't make sense to put on a hat, but not shave your beard."

Uncle pouted at that, muttering that he liked his beard and shouldn't have to shave it for anyone.

Suzume tugged her mother's hand. "Can we go through the forest? Tsuchibue says I'm a wimp and need to practice more."

Mom shook her head. "We can walk, but no running during daylight. Someone might notice you." Suzume's shoulders sagged and she moaned. It was going to take forever to get to London. Mom's wording wasn't lost on her either. _Someone might see you,_ not, _someone might see your uncle and I_. If mom and uncle didn't want to be seen, it simply wouldn't happen. Tsuchibue was right. She _was_ a wimp.

Their home was in Wales, in the middle of an elm grove. It was a few miles to the closest village, which had both wizards and muggles living in it. Mom and uncle had adapted pretty well to living in this world since Suzume had been born. They bought the little house in Wales, and it was secluded from other houses. You could walk along the road to the village, or through a greenbelt that came out behind the little post office at the edge of town.

Really, everything was at the edge of town. It was tiny.

Suzume always looked forward to visiting. They never let her leave by herself, and they didn't leave often. This time her legs ached to run, but she forced herself to march ever so slowly down the narrow winding road. The sun was out and she was grateful for the green branches of the elms arching overhead.

Eventually they did reach town. There was a tiny tea shop, painted white and covered with rose vines climbing every which way untamed. The door swung open, brash bells jangling when it slammed shut behind them. A squat old woman with giant glasses beamed at them.

"Oh Suzie! What I can get for you?"

Suzume curtsied because she knew the old woman loved it.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Bivens." Uncle bowed slightly to the elderly woman. "Is your fireplace available? Suzume still needs a few more things for school."

"Yes yes my dears. Help yourselves." She ushered them through a doorway into a sitting room that was impossibly large for the tiny building. She pulled an oversized handkerchief from an apron pocket and dabbed at her eyes. "I still can't believe little Suzie has gotten her Hogwarts letter already. We'll certainly miss her around here."

Mom didn't say anything, but she didn't look very happy either.

One by one they took a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fire. One by one they came out in The Leaky Cauldron. There were quite a few people there today. Suzume headed straight for the door, hardly waiting for mom and uncle. She knew exactly where the wand shop was and nothing was going to stop her.

Except, maybe a tall immovable man in a black cloak.

Suzume practically bounced off of him and landed bottom-first on the stone floor. She glanced up. He was _very_ tall, with shoulder length black hair and a hook nose. He also did not look pleased.

"S-sorry!" she stammered, jumping to her feet. She bowed her head, "Are you hurt?"

"Thankfully, I am not so fragile a little girl bumping into me would cause grievous bodily harm," his voice was low and caustic. "At your age, you might try learning to walk indoors."

He turned and stalked away as Suzume's mother and uncle Hayato caught up.

"How could you just crash into someone like that?" mom scolded.

Thoroughly shamed, Suzume sank a little further into her mortification. Mom and uncle would have dodged him, even if they were moving at top speed. She was no shinobi at all. If the wand didn't want her, then she'd be wandless too. Not a witch or a shinobi. She'd be nothing. Just a muggle civilian.

They left The Leaky Cauldron together. Instead of rushing to the shop like she'd been wanting to do since the crack of dawn, she dreaded it. She just knew it was going to strike her with lightning, or set the shop on fire, or worse yet, be a cold dead weight in her hand.

"Stop dragging your feet and stand up straight," mom snapped. "You've been begging us to go since yesterday."

Suzume tried, at the very least she kept up with them. The shop looked ominous, even on that sunny afternoon. Mr. Ollivander had a single box sitting out on the counter when they arrived. It was as if he knew they would be the next people to walk through his door.

He beckoned her over and took the lid off the box. The wand inside was elegant, of burnished light brown wood. Suzume hesitated, afraid to touch it.

"Go on," Mr. Ollivander urged. "You wouldn't believe the trouble this core gave me. None of the wood I had would accept it, until I came across this old bit of pine in _my_ father's things. The final result is pine and crow's feather. A bit from my father and a bit from yours." He clasped his hands together and looked on eagerly.

She took a fortifying breath, and picked it up. It was warm in her hand. The straight grained wood thrummed against her palm, the bones of her arm vibrating with it all the way up to her shoulder.

"Give it a try," he said, glowing with anticipation.

Suzume tried moving it in an arc. A cloud of black birds emerged from the end of the wand. Cawing, spiraling around her in tight circles until she was inside a pillar of crows. One in particular caught her attention. It circledher, staring at her with a blood red eye. An eye with a whirlpool iris.

The birds dissipated into wisps of smoke. Suzume had never felt so elated. It just felt, so _right_. The vibrating settled until the wand stilled. The warmth remained though, and the feeling. She never imagined she'd feel such an attachment to a thing, especially something not really alive.

Mr. Ollivander was practically doing a jig. Suzume turned to say something to her mom, and saw her slumped in uncle's arms in a dead faint.

Uncle Hayato laughed nervously. "I don't think your mom was expecting that."


	3. Chapter 3

The last week leading up to the first day of school went faster than she imagined.

Uncle Hayato stood at the sink, rinsing some ugly floral dishes from dinner. "Should we buy an owl?" he suddenly asked.

"She didn't want a pet." Mom glanced in her direction. "Isn't that right?"

Suzume nodded, "the school has owls we can borrow, so I can send you letters."

"I was thinking more so we could send _you_ things," he said.

Her mother put her hands on her hips. "I'd rather not have an owl. It would crap all over everything."

Suzume grabbed an apple off the counter. "You could give sthuff to the foxes," she said through a mouthful.

"Gross," mom held up an arm to shield herself from sprayed apple bits. "How would you know if they have something for you?"

Uncle rinsed the suds from his hands. "She could summon them on prearranged days, but if there was an emergency we'd still have problems communicating."

"In an emergency owls wouldn't be fast enough either," mom snorted. She bit her thumb, deep in thought. "Here Suzume. I will make a seal on your hand, which will alert you when your uncle or I perform kuchiyose. Then you will know the foxes have a message for you. We will put the same seal on ourselves, so will know if you have a message for us. You can still send owls for mundane letters if you like, but our summons will be faster." She got up and pulled a blank scroll from a box, plus a pot of ink and a brush.

"Do you need any help, Hibari?" uncle asked.

"No, I like designing these sorts of things," she said. She sat at the table, straight red hair framing her serene face.

Uncle turned to leave the room, regarding his sister thoughtfully. "You're just like mom," he said.

Suzume crept over to the table in her nightgown and quietly watched her mother work. Soon the scroll was covered in intricate writing and symbols, but Hibari crumpled it up and started again with a fresh roll.

This happened several times. She worked late into the night. Suzume fought the heaviness building in her eyes, but eventually gave up and went to bed.

The resulting scroll was a masterpiece of fuuinjutsu.

Well, maybe not a masterpiece, but it was masterful. Suzume and her uncle admired it after breakfast the next morning.

"Here," mom said. She collected a few drops of blood from herself, uncle, and Suzume. Then mixed and smeared it in the palm of Suzume's summoning hand. "Now put your hand in the middle."

Suzume placed her left hand, palm down, on the trigram in the center.

Mom's brow furrowed and she made several hand seals in quick succession. Her right hand glowed orange. She slapped it down on top of Suzume's. The glow shot out to the edges of the scroll, catching the writing alight. In the next instant, Suzume felt something hot meld into the palm of her hand.

"That should do it," mom said.

She lifted her hand gingerly. There was a red spiral on her palm. As it cooled the red faded to black, and her left hand felt five pounds heavier. Hopefully the heaviness would wear off.

 _My very first seal,_ Suzume smiled. She glanced up into her mother's content face. "Mom, will you show me how it works?"

The rest of the day was spent hunched over the scroll as her mother explained the different elements involved in making a seal, what worked and what didn't work, that sort of thing. By the end Suzume still didn't quite understand it, but was glad to be with mom anyway. It was their last day together before she had to catch the train to school.

* * *

Suzume's breath fogged up the glass. She used a cold fingertip to draw pictures in it. Sometimes swirls, and sometimes the symbols mom had shown her on the kuchiyouse seal scroll. The train carrying her lurched and swayed along the tracks, taking her to Hogwarts.

She tried not to think about the way mom's eyes went all teary back on the platform. Mom didn't cry. Shinobi didn't cry. But even uncle Hayato had been blinking a lot as the train lurched into motion. After that, she couldn't see much herself. Her eyes still stung.

There were three other girls in the booth with her on the train. One was a very blond girl wearing a bottlecap necklace, who'd introduced herself as Luna. She was kind of spaced out. The other two girls were taller than Suzume or Luna. They seemed like they already knew each other.

"My father got a promotion at the ministry," one blustered. "He's in the Department of Mysteries now," She had a broad face with a slightly squashed in nose.

"Pansy, nobody cares what department your father is mopping," the other girl sneered. Pansy responded by punching her in the arm, which turned into a somewhat good natured elbowing match.

"What about you?" Pansy suddenly asked, staring at the blond girl. "What does your father do?"

Luna smiled in a lopsided, dreamy way. "My father is the editor of The Quibbler," she said.

The other girls snorted with laughter.

Millicent turned to Suzume, whose diagram had grown to cover half the window. "What's wrong? You a fan of crackpot newspapers?"

Suzume shrugged, "No, I've just never heard of it."

A predatory gleam lit up the nameless girl's eyes. "Oooh, did you hear that? Sounds like we've got ourselves a muggleborn."

Pansy leaned forward in her seat. "What does _your_ father do then, mudblood?"

Suzume froze, paralyzed by the question. A short list formed in her mind. _He summons crows, is probably some kind of assassin, I don't know him._ None were acceptable to share with present company.

Just then, Draco poked his head in, "Hi Pansy, Millicent." His eyes lit up with recognition when he saw Suzume. "Did you ever find a wand?"

She pulled her wand out and held it up in answer.

"Draco, do you know her?" Pansy asked.

He shrugged, "Yeah I guess. We went wand shopping together. My father was helping her father, or something."

Pansy's mouth went tight and her eyes narrowed a little at his answer.

"That was my uncle," Suzume corrected in a small voice. "I live with my uncle and mom."

"Oh right, that's right," he said distractedly. "Anyway, see you at the castle." He dashed off to poke his head into the next booth, followed by two hulking first year boys.

Pansy and Millicent eyed her in silence after that. Luna absently reached a hand out and patted her arm. "My mother is dead, so I just live with my dad. It's okay if one of your parents is gone."

That was oddly comforting. Suzume decided she liked Luna, even if she was a space cadet.


	4. Chapter 4

It was dark by the time they reached Hogwarts. A giant hulking bearded man with a lantern met them at the gates. While the older students boarded black carriages, he guided the first years to a small army of wooden rowboats bobbing at the edge of a lake. The castle loomed overhead, on the far side. Warm lights glowed invitingly from the windows against a cobalt sky.

Students began climbing into boats. Luna stepped into one and sat, hands folded on her lap and a serene smile on her face. Suzume jumped in facing her. She had to remind herself to hold back on the jumping, she was so excited to go.

"Can you see them?" Luna asked.

"See who?"

"The thestrals pulling the carriages."

Suzume cocked her head sideways. "I didn't see anything pulling them."

Luna nodded absently. "They're very gentle. People are afraid of them though."

The boat lurched out into the lake, and began speeding across. Suzume half-wondered if Luna saw something pulling the boats too but was afraid to ask. Her black hair whipped around her face in the cool breeze, and she trailed a finger in the frigid water. Something tugged on it. She yanked her hand back and stared at the black water suspiciously.

They entered through massive wooden doors and were met by a stern looking old woman. She led them all to a giant room with a starry ceiling, lit by floating candles. The older students were already seated. Suzume quietly filed in with the rest of the first years and sat on the bench next to Luna. She stared up at the teachers. Most of them looked like normal people. Normal wizards anyway.

Except the one with black hair. She sank down in her seat. That was the man she'd collided with at the leaky cauldron. Mom was right, it was a good thing she didn't get the Akaihane looks. Hopefully he wouldn't remember her.

A very old, very bearded wizard stood at a podium at the front of the hall. He made a speech about the school that she was too busy trying to tone down her other senses to hear much of. The whole room was a giant sensory overload.

An old hat with a tear near the brim was brought out and set on a stool. Everyone quieted while it sang a song. Apparently the artifact was sentient, or something, and was going to sort them into one of four different houses.

 _I hope me and Luna get in the same house,_ she thought fervently.

The older lady, Professor McGonagall, called the first years one by one. Suzume was second, thanks to the A in Akaihane. She dragged herself up the aisle toward the stool, wishing this was something done privately. Or that they went in reverse alphabet order and everyone would be too tired to pay attention when it was her turn. Being the focus of this many people went against every shinobi instinct she'd been born with.

The hat was heavy. It slid over her eyes and smelled like leather, oil, and lots of different people. To her surprise, she could hear it talking in her head.

" _Oh, look at this one. Such prestigious bloodlines. The heir of the Akaihane clan, and already accomplished beyond what many achieve in their lifetimes. Yet you thirst for more. To prove yourself. Slytherin is the obvious choice-_

 _Yet, there is a kindness to you Hufflepuff would cultivate. Perhaps you need that kindness to balance such power."_

 _Please,_ Suzume thought, _I just want my dad to be proud. Right now I'm the biggest weakling. I'm not strong enough yet. I'm not even strong enough to find him._

" _If it's power you seek, Hufflepuff would only hold you back._ "

Without further deliberation, the hat roared, "SLYTHERIN."

Applause erupted from the Slytherin table. She timidly made her way to them and slid into an empty spot on the bench. She was gravely disappointed when Luna was sorted into Ravenclaw, and somewhat terrified when both Millicent and Pansy were sorted into Slytherin with her. Draco also triumphantly made his way to the Slytherin table after sorting. At least he wasn't hostile to her. Ambivalence was nice.

Then a name was called that made heads turn and whispers fill the room.

Harry Potter.

Suzume had heard it before, but couldn't remember why he was important or famous. The hat sat on his head for a good long while before it finally pronounced him a Gryffindor. Draco sneered at that. Actually, a lot of the students at her table were sneering.

Eventually the sorting finished, and Professor Dumbledore waved his hands, magically making a glorious feast appear. Her eyes grew wide. Mom and uncle definitely could not do that. He didn't even use a wand or hand seals.

Draco was basking in the attention of their peers. Pansy and Millicent had positioned themselves next to him and were hanging on his every word. It sounded like, "My father," and "money," and "purebloods blah blah," Suzume quietly began eating.

It was okay if none of the students in her house were her friends. Mom had discouraged her from getting attached to other kids. The more attached they were, the more likely they'd find out things about her nobody wanted known. If she could just stay plain and boring in their eyes, that would be perfect. Shinobi worked from the shadows.

After dinner was finished, the house prefect lined the first years up separately and led them out of the hall. He was a tall, pale boy with wispy brown hair.

"Welcome, first years. I'm going to lead you to the Slytherin common room where you will meet our head of house."

Suzume followed, quiet and obedient. Draco wiggled and elbowed the other kids jokingly. She could hear him say, "Professor Snape is one of my father's associates." That made sense to her, seeing as Mr. Malfoy was on the board of governors for the school.

The prefect gave them the password, and they entered the Slytherin common room. It was very posh for a dungeon, with high ceilings, dark polished woodwork, and luxurious green and silver tapestries draped around the room.

Her heart sank when she saw her head of house. Professor Snape was the same man she'd run into. He stood with his arms folded, swathed in sweeping black ropes. Lamplight illuminated his sharp features as he stepped out of shadow. Suzume shivered under his penetrating gaze as it swept over them.

"You have been sorted into the greatest house Hogwarts has to offer. Use your time here wisely and you will be propelled to heights of greatness. Squander this opportunity, and you will forever regret it." His silky voice lowered. "Also, each year Hogwarts holds a competition between houses for the House Cup. Slytherin has won it for the past six years. I will not tolerate any behavior that would put our standing in jeopardy." His black eyes suddenly fixed on Suzume, "Behavior, such as _running in the halls._ "

She swallowed uneasily. Pansy and Millicent looked sideways at her and giggled.

Professor Snape clarified a few more rules and expectations, then sent them to bed. Suzume climbed the stairs to the girl's room with a heavy heart. Somehow she'd made a bad impression on her professor even before starting school.

Upstairs each girl had a poster bed with deep green and silver draperies. Suzume found her trunk at the foot of one. Millicent Bulstrode's was right next to her. She changed into a white nightgown, packed her schoolbag with the books she'd need for classes in the morning, and slid her legs under her blankets.

Pansy and Millicent were sitting on the next bed over, giggling. Pansy was busy admiring her wand and telling everyone within earshot about how she'd been so fortunate to get a unicorn hair core. "They make the most loyal wands imaginable," she sighed, cradling it against her cheek.

Millicent reclined in her bed, with an open book of wandlore. She fixed her beady eyes on Suzume. "Hey Suzume, what's your wand core? I'll look it up in here."

Twisting her hands around the wand handle, Suzume stared at the floor. "Crow feather," she said in a tiny voice.

"Crow," Millicent repeated. Both girls stared back at Suzume. "Crow, as in those terribly common, completely unmagical black birds."

Pansy sniffed, "And here I thought you went wand shopping with Draco. Mr. Ollivander would never use such a vulgar core."

"It's not even in my book," sniggered Millicent.

The two girls nattered back and forth about Suzume for a bit longer until they dissolved into flapping their arms like wings and cawing at her. Miserable, Suzume turned over and pulled the blanket over her head. Maybe they were right. The moment the wand had chosen her was the only point it showed any inkling of being magical. It still felt warm, and nice, but she hadn't been able to conjure up crows again, or do much of anything for that matter.

Eventually one of the prefects came and made some explicit threats about getting Professor Snape if they all didn't shut it and go to bed.

Suzume lay awake in bed, listening to her housemates' breathing fall into the steady rhythm of sleep. She desperately wanted to talk to mom. Or uncle. Even Tsuchibue would work.

Tsuchibue could take a message back for her. Not in here though. She could only imagine the reactions of the other girls if they heard his voice in the girl's dorm. Not in the common room either. What if someone came out while he was there? She sat up, pushing the blankets off.

She was a shinobi. Mom and Uncle Hayato were fighting epic life and death battles at her age. She could sneak in and out of the Slytherin dorms, no problem.

Her feet slipped into the soft sandals at her bedside. She picked up her wand, then decided to leave it on her pillow for safekeeping. Peering around, made herself quiet and felt for people's chakra as best she could. Everyone seemed asleep.

The common room felt empty. She went through, nonchalant to a casual observer but inwardly tense, ready to dart into shadow at any moment.

Outside the Slytherin dorm the long hall was empty as well. And dark. The dark was welcoming. It concealed her as she walked, and reminded her of something mom used to say. _A true shinobi protects from the shadows._ The passage smelled of damp stone. Not a fresh smell, but not a bad smell either. Her white nightgown rustled around bare legs in a sudden draft of fresh air. Someone had opened a door, somewhere ahead.

Suzume enhanced her movement with chakra, free to do so finally. She darted down the hall and flattened herself behind a pillar. Then waited. Whoever it was went a different way. She could feel them. She didn't know the grownups in the castle well enough to know which one it was.

She made it through a maze of hallways, past the dungeon where potions class was held, up a flight of stairs. It was her intent to get outside before summoning Tsuchibue, but the castle seemed so quiet, so desolate, and she wasn't sure if maybe it locked against outside entry once someone exited.

Weighing the risk in her mind, she finally settled in a little portcullis upstairs and bit her finger. A spot of blood appeared on her skin, on top of a layer of bitemarked scars. She made several handseals and whispered, " _Kuchiyose no jutsu"_

A puff of smoke appeared next to her. A small brown fox wearing a white nightshirt and red fez blinked up at her reproachfully, then grumbled in his startlingly deep voice in mom's native language.

"Why'd you summon me in the middle of the night?"

"Sorry Tsuchibue. I'm just scared." She hugged her knees to her chest and sat next to him, tears welling up in her eyes. The little fox yawned.

"So this is that magic school you were talking about? Seems quiet."

"We're supposed to be asleep right now."

"Yeah, so am I." He gave her a sideways look. "Any other problems besides being a big baby?"

"They divided us into separate houses. The kids in my house are really big into bloodlines and purity, that stuff. They were asking me about my family. About my dad."

"Did you tell them to piss off?" He scratched his ear with a hind leg, making the fez go crooked.

Her eyes widened. "Are you crazy? I am _trying_ to make friends here."

"Well, you don't have to worry about bloodlines. The Akaihane clan is well respected. Technically your uncle is the clan head, and since he has no children that makes you his heir. That, and your grandmother was an Uzumaki."

Suzume frowned, "Nobody knows about all that, it's from a different world. Besides, I don't know what to tell them about my dad. I don't even know his name, or anything." She looked at him in desperation. "You _know_ what's going on. Why did mom and uncle come here to hide? Are they hiding from dad?"

Tsuchibue sighed and closed his lamp-like eyes. "Both of your parents have many enemies, this is the safest place you could be. If the biggest worry in your life right now is making friends at school, then your mother has done very well."

Sudden desperation siezed her, and she asked him again. Even though his answers never made sense. "Do you know my father's name? At _least_ tell me what clan he was from."

"They fanned the flame, once many, now made few by a weasel in their midst." Eyes still closed, he smirked.

Just like every time. Dang fox.

"But what is his name?" she hissed. "If we don't even live in the same world, how can it hurt for me to know his name?"

"Your mother would turn me into a coat," he shivered at the thought. "Look, just make something up if they ask again." His ears suddenly pricked, yellow eyes wide. "Shhhh! Suzume, someone is coming."

She froze in terror. The creepy old caretaker's cat peered around the corner at them and meowed. She could hear him close behind, grumbling under his breath about voices in the hall.

"Leave before someone sees you," she whispered frantically. "I'm already in huge trouble if he catches me!"

"Then hide, or transform or something. You're a shinobi," he whispered back. Then in a small puff of smoke, he vanished.

There was no way she'd escape unseen down the long hall. She was sure she could outrun the old geezer, but if he saw her face it wouldn't make a difference. There weren't many places to hide. If she'd been smart enough to wear her black robes, maybe she could have climbed up flat against the ceiling. People never looked on the ceiling. But white nightgowns were too obvious.

That left transform. But who wouldn't get in trouble? Real panic set in, he was moments from coming round the corner. She made the seals, and whispered, " _henge_ ", with the last grownup she'd seen focused in her mind.

The old man rounded the corner before the smoke had a chance to clear. Suzume straightened up, smoothing out freshly transformed black robes.

"P-pr-professor?!" came a strangled voice.

"Who is it this time Filch? One of the first years?" The deep voice was oh so familiar, and oh so irritated. Dread washed over her. It was too late.

She'd transformed into her head of house.

He rounded the corner just in time to see a doppelganger of himself staring back, with a completely dumbfounded look on its face. If the real Professor Snape was surprised he didn't show it. Suzume barely recovered in time to dodge a yellow flash of light that sizzled hot against the stone beside her.

She dashed down the hall. Another spell caught her by the heels, momentarily slowing her as if she was slogging through tar.

It was like a bad horror movie, running away in slow motion as her pursuer bore down. He snarled out another spell and made a slashing motion with his wand. Her sleeve slashed open like an invisible sword had cut it. Searing pain lit up her arm.

Eyes wide, raw desperation twinged her brain, and suddenly she could _see_ it holding her back. She stared at the mass of green light clinging to her legs, _the spell,_ and quickly discerned a way to pivot her foot just so, concentrate her chakra to the area, and-

She was free.

Professor Snape had nearly caught up, his face contorted with rage. She managed to get around a corner. It wasn't easy to dodge his spells now, but at least she could see them flying at her a little more clearly.

Suddenly another teacher appeared in front of her, at the far end of the hall. Spells flew at her from both directions.

There was only one thing to do. Suzume scrambled to the nearest window, put a shoulder to the glass, and jumped.


	5. Chapter 5

It would have been exhilarating if she wasn't being pursued by rabid grownups and bleeding everywhere.

Air rushed past her face, her eyes still wide, she plummeted in a free fall. It was a long way to the ground. Her eyes took in the movement of ledges rushing past. She reached out her good arm. Fingers caught on a stone.

She twisted her body, so the momentum flung her sideways onto a gabled roof. Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall were back at the window. Snape caught sight of her, yelled, and slung another spell her way.

It wasn't hard to dodge at that distance. Taking a leaf from Uncle Hayato's book, she leapt from the gable to a small tower and dashed across a rampart. She could feel the henge slipping, and knew if the teachers saw it happen she'd be in deeper doo doo than she could imagine.

Suzume leapt off, landing near the greenhouses. Exhausted from all the chakra use, she collapsed on the ground in a heap. The henge slipped. She pulled her white nightgown back over her small knees, took a moment to collect herself, then stood. The grounds would be swarming with grownups, and they'd find her.

But where to go?

Should she try to break into the castle and get back to bed unnoticed? Or find a good hiding spot outside until things calmed down?

There was a door near the greenhouse. She tried the handle, but it was locked. The forest wasn't far. It was off limits too, but she'd already broken too many rules to count.

She dashed underneath the canopy of branches. Used some of the tree climbing exercises mom had been practicing with her by night, and made it far enough up an enormous beech tree that she was sure nobody would find her.

Once she was tucked comfortably in the branches, she let herself examine the situation.

If she was caught, she'd probably get expelled. If she got expelled, she wouldn't have to be away from mom and Uncle Hayato for months at a time, so that would be good. However, mom would probably kill her.

On the off chance she wasn't expelled, she would have detention for the rest of her life. Also, she was pretty sure Professor Snape would hate her. Forever. And mom would probably kill her.

At least, nobody knew she was out of her dorm. Nobody knew she was the imposter-Snape. If she could just get back inside the castle in time, things would be okay. They'd give her detentions for being out of bed, but being out of bed didn't seem so bad in comparison. With any luck, nobody would ever solve the mystery of Professor Snape's weirdly athletic doppelganger.

They'd never suspect a first year of having the ability to do all that. She'd been reading the text books, and children here started their magical educations a lot later than children in her mother's world. They also weren't trained in combat and espionage.

Probably because kids in her parent's world had to become child soldiers. Suzume shuddered, then began thinking of a way to stop the bleeding on her arm, and get back inside unnoticed.

* * *

Severus Snape howled in frustration as the stranger leapt off the wall, out of sight. There was no ready way down through the window.

"Get Dumbledore!" he bellowed to McGonagall, and ran toward the nearest exit.

"He's been alerted Severus!" she shouted back. "Now _wait_! I'm going with you, otherwise we won't know which is you and which is the intruder."

Grinding his teeth in frustration, he slowed just enough for her to catch up. Of course she was right. They'd know once he caught the bastard though, because the fake would be bound and gagged like a pig to be slow roasted on a spit.

This had to be premeditated. Polyjuice potion tooks weeks to brew properly. It couldn't be anyone in the lower years. Someone had to start brewing it in the middle of summer vacation. His stomach twisted. In all likelihood, that someone wasn't a student. It was a true intruder, and Merlin knew what kind of malice drove them to such lengths.

Mentally he went through a catalogue of people who might have gotten access to one of his hairs. Most of them were not nice. Then potions that might have enhanced the intruder's movement to that degree. All were extremely advanced. Whoever it was certainly didn't move like a human. He never saw them pull out a wand. They didn't appear to be injured from falling such a height or going through the glass, though he was sure he'd hit them with _Sectumsempra_.

"If you're going to follow me around, could you at least keep up?" he snapped. Minerva was starting to wear down. She was fast for an old lady, but still an old lady.

They reached a set of double wood doors to the outside. Mr. Filch stood guard next to it with a trembling Slytherin prefect.

"Professor, they did a head count in all of the dormitories and one of your Slytherins is missing."

"What?"

"Suzume Akaihane," the prefect blurted. "A first year. Her wand was lying on her pillow."

"Search the castle-," he snarled.

"Professor," Filch interrupted. "I heard _two_ voices in the hall."

His gaze snapped back to Filch.

"It was a man and a little girl. They weren't speaking English. Something fast and gibberish."

 _Dammit._ A frisson of protectiveness surged through him. Someone had disguised themselves as him to gain a student's trust. He was going to make the cankerous wretch pay.

* * *

Up in her tree, Suzume waited. She'd been working on her arm, but didn't have the chakra control yet for medical jutsu like mom did. It stopped bleeding anyway, and she knit it together a bit. There was still an ugly red gash though, and her nightgown was a mess.

The palm of her left hand burned. She looked at it curiously. The black spiral seal mom put on it had turned red. A few moments later the burning faded and it changed back to normal. That must mean they had summoned a fox. Maybe to see if she had a message for them. They would have known that she summoned Tsuchibue earlier.

Grownups searched the grounds with wands aloft, lighting their way. They came closer. With alarm she saw that Professor Snape was in the front, leading the search into the forest. Suzume stood on the branch, tiptoed along the smooth bark, then sprang to the next branch. She winced when the leaves rattled.

 _Be quieter,_ she scolded herself.

Concentrating harder, she made her way deeper into the forest without disturbing any more leaves. She settled into the crook of a gnarled tree and shivered. She needed help. Her chakra was low, it was the middle of the night, and she was stranded in the forbidden forest hiding from her teachers. What kinds of tracking spells did wizards have anyway?

What if she couldn't get back inside? What if someone noticed she was gone?

Dread settled into the pit of her stomach. She hugged herself and rocked, wracking her brain for what she could do. Maybe she could just walk home, call off this whole school thing.

 _Tsuchibue._ All of this happened because she summoned him in the first place, but he would know what to do. He might even be able to help her sneak back into the castle. He was a genius at transfiguration, and that's what summons were supposed to do. Help you.

Dabbing a little blood from her arm onto her left hand, she made the hand seals and whispered, " _kuchiyose no jutsu._ "

An enormous puff of smoke appeared in the tree. Along with an enormous fox. He blinked down at her, showed all of his long pointed teeth with a wicked grin-

And promptly spat Uncle Hayato out onto the branch.

Her eyes widened in surprise. Uncle scrambled to his feet, kunai clutched in hand. His normally spiked hair was limp and dripping in fox slobber. Still grinning, Tsuchibue shrank himself down to his usual size.

"Told you she was fine," he said.

Uncle paled at the sight of her bedraggled, blood soaked nightgown and croaked, "Who did this to you? Hibari is going to have a fit!"

At that moment, Suzume didn't care if she got expelled. She didn't care if she got back inside the castle, or if mom killed her. Everything that had happened, Pansy and Millicent's bullying, being sorted in front of the entire school, this whole ordeal that came from just wanting to talk to Tsuchibue, overwhelmed her at once. She threw her arms around her bewildered uncle and sobbed.

He crouched next to her and patted her on the back consolingly as she cried, then froze in place.

"Suzume, run!" he whispered, pushing her away. He snatched a kunai, slashed at black ropes snaking their way up his legs. Jumped clear of them, and turning in mid-air hurled the kunai out into the darkness.

There was the sound of the kunai hitting something, and a muffled snarl. A flash of light came slinging through the forest toward uncle. He darted sideways. A large slash opened his pant leg. Red sprayed out.

"Stop!" Suzume screamed. "Stop fighting! That's my uncle!"

Bright sparks continued to fly from the ground toward uncle, who grimly dodged them.

"Uncle, stop! That's my sensei!" Suzume shouted, desperate to be heard. Either she wasn't loud enough, or neither man believed her. Her heart dropped. The trees blazed orange as uncle sent a katon toward the black silhouette of Professor Snape.

Tears welled up in her eyes again. Uncle might kill him, and it was her fault.

The professor already had a shield of blue light up. The fire roared into him, rolling off the shield and around behind.

She rubbed the tears from her eyes. She could see Professor Snape's chakra now, surrounding him clear and blue. Uncle's red chakra darted only fractions of a second ahead of his body. He moved behind Snape. Suzume could see it. He was going to throw his kunai. Snape didn't even realize he was there.

Her teacher was going to die.

Body flicker was one of her weakest techniques, but it was the only way to reach them in time. Focused on her uncle's chakra, she molded the last dregs of her own. His chakra-arm went through the motion of throwing the knives moments before his physical arm would do the same, straight into Snape's exposed back.

In an instantaneous release of chakra, Suzume flashed across the forest floor. She placed herself behind her teacher, back to back with him. It was the only option. She had no more chakra left to perform another technique after this. The kunai were on their way, but she could see them coming before they hit.

One connected with her shoulder. She grunted and bit her tongue. There were still two more to deal with. The second would have hit Snape in the back of the head. She backhanded it, slashing her hand open but deflecting it away from her teacher.

The third headed straight for her face.

If she ducked, it would hit his spine.

She raised her injured arm in a clumsy attempt to block when a flash of blue light from behind her sent the kunai flying sideways.

 _Fast. He's fast for a wizard,_ she thought.

Exhausted, her knees quivered. Her shoulder throbbed where the kunai was embedded in it. She was dimly aware of hot wetness running down the front of her nightgown.

"I said, stop fighting," she ground out, then collapsed to her knees.

Uncle appeared, kneeling in front of her. He steadied her, his eyes wide and fearful.

"Why did you jump in the way? You could have been killed."

"Because," Suzume blinked in confusion. "I couldn't let you kill him."

Uncle's voice seemed far away now. Her eyes drifted closed. He and Professor Snape were arguing about something.


	6. Chapter 6

Snape glared down at the criminal scum crouched in front of Suzume.

"Get your hands off her," he snarled, raising his wand threateningly.

The man glared back. "Her injuries need tending."

"Obviously, you dunderhead. If it wasn't for you she wouldn't be injured in the first place."

"Me?" The man's eyes flashed. "You're the one who kidnapped her. The only reason _you_ are alive right now is for interrogation."

 _No, it's because Suzume stopped those two knives,_ he thought grimly.

The man muttered to himself in Japanese, then put something small and round into her mouth.

"What are you feeding her?" Snape said.

"Medicine."

"By giving her some half baked remedy you are interferring with her recovery. There are blood replenishing potions and the like back at the castle. The longer you delay, the worse her condition will become."

The man argued back, but didn't say what was in it. That was fine. The longer Snape was able to draw him into an argument, the more time he had to plan.

They were well outside the anti apparition barrier. The fact that the kidnapper hadn't disapparated yet meant that he either couldn't apparate, or couldn't perform a side-along apparition. It also meant that he wouldn't voluntarily leave without her.

Attacking the kidnapper directly wasn't an option. It was too dangerous for Suzume. Also, _Sectumsempra_ had injured the man in front of him, but not enough to hinder his ability to fight. This was a dangerous opponent.

The idiot pulled the knife out of her shoulder, causing her to bleed even more. Severus watched with alarm as the red stain on her nightgown grew and pooled on the ground. He couldn't delay much longer.

As if sent by some very timely god of diversions, a small fox popped out of the bushes and spoke to the man. The kidnapper turned his head and answered the fox, taking his hands off Suzume as he did so.

Despite being deeply startled by this, Snape seized the opportunity. Dropping to his knees he placed a hand on her head. Together they disappeared with a resounding crack.

* * *

Hayato stared dumbly at the spot where Suzume had just vanished. She was _gone._

 _GONE._

Springing to his feet, he cast his chakra around trying to feel for a trace of either one of them. The only thing he could sense was the faint residue of her and the kidnapper's chakra.

"Tsuchibue! Can you smell them?"

The fox lashed its tails and sniffed the spot where her body had lain, then lifted his nose to the breeze. "No. He used something like a time space jutsu to move her. They're gone."

Hayato gritted his teeth. His fist clenched. Trembling, he shouted and slammed it sideways into a tree. The thick trunk splintered and collapsed inward. The last time he'd seen her before all this was waving from the platform as the Hogwarts Express puffed away. Sending her to school was a terrible mistake.

For eleven years they had protected her. He'd abandoned Konoha to save them. He'd turned his back on everyone in the village for her sake, on his entire world/ The very first night she spent away from them, she disappeared.

A light appeared through the trees. Hayato tensed, ready for another confrontation. Instead his sister's voice wafted through the branches.

" _Hayato!"_

She came bounding through the trees, red hair flying out behind her like bird's wings. The light bearer followed, he was an old man with a long white beard.

"Where is she? I thought I sensed her with you, but-" she looked around, bewildered at the charred plants around them. Her gaze focused on the spot where Suzume had lain. "Why is her blood on the ground?" she shrieked.

"He took her, just now." Hayato croaked.

Hibari's expression darkened. Her eyes grew stormy, and she bared her teeth.

"Who took her?" the old man asked, finally catching up. His wand illuminated the trees in a soft white light.

"A man wearing black robes. He had black hair this long, and a hooked nose."

"How could you let someone take her!" Hibari looked like she was about to hit him. Hayato instinctively stepped back. " _Who_ took her, and _where_ is she?"

"I, they, he, I don't know," he stammered. Then slipped into their native language. _"I didn't recognize his chakra. He was a stranger."_

" _Did he injure you?"_ She pointed to his leg. Hayato nodded grimly. The color drained from Hibari's face. _"I don't think he was a wizard then. What wizard could injure a shinobi from Root and kidnap Suzume from under their nose?"_

" _Pardon me,"_ the old man said, " _may I offer some insight?"_

Hayato blinked in astonishment at the old wizard who spoke his language. He bowed. _"Yes, please."_

" _My name is Professor Dumbledore. I am the one who notified you and your sister of Ms. Akaihane's suspicious disappearance._

 _The description you gave of the kidnapper matches that of the intruder. However, there is a possibility it was our own potions master. You see, the intruder assumed his form. Professor Snape was quite angry and determined to rescue Ms. Akaihane at all costs."_

Hayato nodded. Suzume had said he was her sensei. She might have not realized it was an imposter. He explained to Dumbledore and Hibari what had happened. How she was alone and frightened, and they were attacked. He conveniently left out the part where she jumped in front of his kunai though. He didn't want to be murdered by Hibari before they found his niece.

" _Presumably, polyjuice potion was used,"_ Dumbledore said. _"It works under a very limited time frame, which means an intruder would need to have carried a sizeable supply in order for it to still be working. Based on that, I believe there is a strong chance she is safe with Professor Snape at this moment."_

"Excuse me," Tsuchibue interrupted, in English this time. "But I recognized the chakra and smell of the man who took her. It was the same man from the castle. Suzume summoned me, because she's a big crybaby, and was nearly caught out of bed by two humans and a cat. He was one of them. The cat saw us, and Suzume begged me to undo the summoning so she wouldn't get in as much trouble when they caught her. I told her to hide from them, and went home."

Dumbledore watched in fascination as Tsuchibue spoke.

"Why didn't you stop her from being taken just now? You're under contract." Hibari accused.

Tsuchibue preened himself a little. "Because you people are being stupid about it. I don't believe there was an intruder, but nobody listens to me. I think it was Suzume all along. She told Hayato and her sensei repeatedly to stop fighting, but nobody listens to her either."

He hopped up onto a branch. "And if you're not going to listen to me, there's not much point in staying, is there?"

Professor Dumbledore held up a hand placatingly. "I am interested in hearing more. This is a fascinating theory."

Hibari looked like she was about to bite Hayato's face off. The little fox fixed Dumbledore with a serious gaze.

"I believe that Suzume did not hide. Instead, she copied her sensei's appearance in order to fool the approaching adults into believing she was him and avoid being punished. Only, she did not realize he was among them and panicked. When she ran away, everyone assumed she was an intruder."

Hayato paled. It made sense. Perfect sense. Except for one thing. "How could a wizard have defeated me? A shinobi could have used henge and-"

Tsuchibue sneered. All he said was, "After eleven years of peace, you have gotten soft."

"Although I do not understand how a child at her tender age could accomplish all that, after hearing the kitsune's version of things, I do believe that she is safe," Dumbledore said. "Professor Snape is highly accomplished in many fields besides potions. Dueling, as you have found. He is also adept with medical spells, and utterly devoted to the safety of our students. Knowing him, he has disapparated somewhere secure with her, tended to any immediate health concerns, and will have her back at the castle by the time we arrive."

Tsuchibue beamed, and leaped to Dumbledore's shoulder. "Finally, a human with sense!"

Hibari pinned him with a deathly glare. "Tsuchibue," she said with mock sweetness. "If you are wrong and something has happened to her, I will make you into a coat."

* * *

The tiny room was dusty and smelled of rat droppings.

Snape coughed, and waved his wand over the filthy old bed at the edge of the room. A clean blanket appeared in the air. It wafted down over the bedspread.

Suzume lay in a heap on the ground. The wound still bled, though not as quickly as when the knife was pulled. He flicked his wand again.

" _Mobilocorpus"_

Her slight body drifted over and set gently down on the blanket. Severus quickly threw up some rudimentary wards on the room. They would be enough to alert him if anyone came near, and potentially slow down a more skilled opponent.

Setting to work, he began closing the wound on her shoulder. It wasn't the most beautiful job, but Poppy could clean it up later. He closed the flayed gash on her hand as well. Her arm, well, he wasn't sure what caused that wound. Probably the kidnapper, but it had already stopped bleeding so he wasn't going to waste time fretting over it.

He would have preferred apparating somewhere far, far away from that red haired freak. But Hogwarts was still the safest place for her, and the faster they returned to the school the safer she would be. They could cover most of the distance between the shrieking shack and the castle through the tunnel to the whomping willow.

Suzume's mouth twitched, and her black eyes slowly opened. She blinked up at him, uncomprehending at first.

"What is this place?"

Snape didn't answer. He lit the end of his wand and waved it in front of her eyes. They dilated properly. Good. That ruled out more than a few things the freak might have drugged her with.

She tried to sit up, but Snape held up his hand to stop her. "Not yet. This isn't a safe place to rest, but you've just opened your eyes. Wait a bit."

He paced the room impatiently, strengthening some of the wards.

Suzume obediently laid back down, staring blankly at the ceiling. "Is my uncle okay?"

Snape's expression darkened. "That sorry waste of breath, whoever it was, is fine."

"Sorry that he attacked you. This is a terrible-, it's all my fault." She sat up this time. "I snuck out of bed, and everyone thought there was an intruder."

Snape rubbed his temples. Yes, there it was. The seasonal headache inflicted by students.

"I should probably be expelled. You almost died because of it." Her eyes grew large and watery.

 _Don't cry,_ he thought. _Don't bleeding cry on top of everything else. W_ eeping first years were not something he enjoyed handling.

"Stop talking," he said sharply. "You have no idea what is going on. That may or may not be your uncle, just as the person who lured you out of the castle was not actually me. There are very dangerous wizards out there, and right now you just need to be quiet and cooperate so I can return you safely. And _keep control of your emotions_."

She nodded, and swallowed. He noted with relief that the wavery look had disappeared. Maybe there was hope this girl wouldn't be complete torture to have as a student.

"I can walk now," she said.

"Good," he heaved open the door to the secret passage. "We are going to run." 

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has followed along so far! The first several chapters have focused heavily on Suzume and establishing her and her family's characters, so now I can start to move around to other cannon characters a little more easily. Phew. And thank you to all who have taken time to review.


	7. Chapter 7

At first Professor Snape loped along, as if expecting her to be unable to keep pace with an adult man. His hand was warm, and engulfed hers in a solid grip. His mouth was set in a grim line. Suzume pushed herself a little harder. The soldier pill uncle had stuffed in her mouth helped some. She didn't remember him doing it, but could tell it had been there from the lingering manure-ish aftertaste.

He ran faster in response to her increased speed . The walls of the tunnel flashed by in darkness. Roots of trees snagged at their clothes as they ran. He had his wand out, but held it ready for combat rather than for use as a lantern.

They slowed, nearing the end of the tunnel. The air smelled fresher. There was a tremendous creaking above them, like a tree falling down.

Her teacher reached an arm out of the entrance and prodded around. The creaking stopped.

"Professor-"

"Shut up," he hissed.

Suzume's legs buckled. She really needed to work on her chakra reserves.

"I can't run anymore."

Snape growled something that could have been a cuss word. Stooping, he swept her into his arms and climbed out of the passage into open air.

A cool breeze swept over them, chilling the saturated spots on her nightgown that stuck to her skin. Suzume closed her eyes and shivered, trying to feel if uncle was nearby. Instead, she sensed the warmth of mom's chakra. Professor Snape was running again.

"My mom is here!" she blurted. "I can feel it." She opened her eyes, desperately searching yet dreading her at the same time. Moments later, mom appeared in front of them; hair the color of blood in the moonlight, and pale eyes full of fire.

Professor Snape set her down. She tried to run to mom, but he caught her by the arm, yanked her behind him, and raised his wand.

"Don't come any closer," he shouted. Mom's expression darkened. "Suzume, ask her a question. Something only your mother knows."

Perversely, the first thing that came to mind was, _who is my father?_ Somehow she didn't think that would be appreciated right now, and the ensuing bloodbath would be her fault.

"What is my wand core?" she blurted instead.

"Crow feather." Mom's voice was deadpan.

Suzume broke free of his grasp and ran to her. Mom caught her up in a crushing embrace, then released her.

"Look at all this blood! What on earth happened?" She began pawing through the tears in Suzume's gown.

"It's fine mom, I'm okay. Professor Snape fixed it."

"But what happened?" She caught Suzume's hand and scrutinized the newly closed gash. "Who did this to you?"

"Well, there was a fight," she began, "because everyone thought someone kidnapped me."

Just then Tsuchibue and Hayato dropped in, the little fox landing lightly on mom's shoulder before springing off again. "Actually, Hayato and Professor Snape were fighting, and Hayato hit Suzume with two kunai by mistake," Tsuchibue volunteered.

Mom's anger was palpable.

Red chakra swirled around her, lighting up her fists like twin balls of flame. Her hair twisted and whipped around her face. Hayato tried to scramble away as quickly as he'd arrived, but wasn't fast enough to evade the wrath of a shinobi mother.

"YOU IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU BE SO CARELESS?"

It happened in the blink of an eye. Mom's fist connected with Hayato's stomach. His body went flinging into the trees. There was a tremendous crash.

A single tree some distance away creaked.

With a long drawn out groan, it fell heavily to the ground.

Nobody said anything for a good minute or so. Professor Snape looked particularly stunned. Finally Suzume left her mother's side to tug on his sleeve.

"Shouldn't we go to the castle now?" she asked.

Nodding dumbly, he took a step forward. He didn't even protest when Suzume slipped her hand in his.

"Professor Snape, this is my mom."

"Hibari Akaihane," she said, bowing lightly before taking her daughter's other hand.

* * *

Severus walked quickly, trying to process what had just happened.

That stunning witch had just appeared before them, and, she was stunning. And terrifying. He snuck a sideways glance at her. Suzume hardly looked like her at all.

His young student beamed up at her, then at him. The little wretch was even _bouncing_ as she walked between them. Whatever happened to her not being able to run anymore?

"So, that was your brother?" Snape ventured conversationally, trying to sort things out in his head .

"Yes. We are twins." Her voice was too serene for someone who'd just punched a man halfway across school grounds.

"Is he, still alive?"

"Probably," she said with a brilliant smile. "Is it true that you fought him?"

Snape nodded, unsure what sort of reaction it might provoke. "If it was him in the forest, and not some impostor."

"And you got Suzume away from him without a scratch on yourself. I never thought I'd meet someone outside our family skilled enough to keep up with him."

He decided nobody was going to find out the attacker had managed to injure him. _Ever._ His rib still ached, but it was only superficial damage.

"There was another kunai," Suzume said, apparently doing her best to foster Hibari's admiration for her new teacher. "It was going to hit me in the face but Professor Snape blocked it."

His face flushed under Hibari's adoring stare. He was grateful it was dark out.

Once they reached the castle, he led them through the double doors. Filch greeted them deferentially. Suddenly self conscious, he released Suzume's hand. Strangely, no footsteps echoed as they walked. Silence was something he took care to cultivate. It made it easier to ambush wayward students. But Suzume and her mother too?

In just a few hours the halls would be swarming with students. Suffering through the first day of school with no sleep the night before was not on his list of favorite activities.

"Would you prefer Suzume be evaluated by our mediwitch first?" he asked. "Or shall we proceed straight to the headmaster's office?"

"Headmaster. Once we are there, I can examine her."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Mom is a mediwitch too," Suzume said.

They arrived at the eagle statue outside the headmaster's office. Snape gave the password, and they climbed the spiral staircase to the room above.

"Good evening, Ms. Akaihane. Or should I say good morning?" Dumbledore inclined his head toward Hibari. "Thank you for coming so quickly. I trust your brother will recover from his beating in time to join us?"

Her cheeks colored at his words. "Yes, sir. He will be here soon."

"Good. He is a key witness to sorting this mess out. Severus, would you please have a seat."

Snape sat and folded his arms across his chest. Suzume's mother took advantage of the time to go over her daughter once more in the light. She looked closely at the closed wound on Suzume's shoulder, then turned her arm in her hands.

"Suzume, did you try to fix this one yourself?"

She hung her head in embarassment. "Yes, mom."

"Well it's going to scar now. Next time get an adult." Green light surrounded her hand closely. She pressed it to her daughter's arm. When she lifted her hand, the skin was closed with a pink sheen to it. "How did that one happen?"

Suzume glanced up, her eyes meeting Snape's guiltily. "I jumped out a window," she said.

Someone rapped sharply on the window.

"Severus, would you be so kind as to let Mr. Akaihane in?" Dumbledore said.

Snape rose and smoothly lifted the heavy window open. Her wretched uncle was crouched on the sill. A perverse impulse to give him a gentle shove off the ledge tempted him, but he managed to resist. The fox sprang through the window and into Suzume's lap. The creature had two tails, he noted.

Her uncle slid inside. His face was drawn and pale. He coughed, wiping a fresh red smear from the corner of his mouth. The way he doubled over and winced told Snape that he was in a great deal of pain.

 _Good_.

"Welcome at last, Mr. Akaihane," Dumbledore said. "May I offer you a toffee, or some hot chocolate? Or perhaps medical attention?"

Hayato shook his head and held his hand up. "I'm fine," he gasped.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"I'd like a hot chocolate," the fox said.

The old wizard conjured steaming mugs for everyone. "I must confess, this is the first time I have had the honor of a kitsune's company," he said. "Why don't we start there. How did you come to be associated with this fine family?"

The fox licked some whipped cream off his whiskers. "My name is Tsuchibue. There is a contract between my clan, and the Akaihane clan," he explained. "Each person born into their clan that wishes to be contracted with us signs a special scroll. It grants them the right to summon one of us for assistance at any time. Conversely, we may also summon them if we need the assistance of a shinobi. Er, human."

"Fascinating arrangement," he said. "After seeing the strength of Suzume's mother, it appears to be mutually beneficial as well."

Tsuchibue regarded the humans in his charge with something like fondness. "They're good entertainment."

"So according to your earlier story, Suzume is contracted with your clan and able to summon kitsune?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore turned to her. "Now, tell us exactly what you were doing out of bed."

She swallowed, her nervousness etched in every fidget, every glance, and every twitch. "Mom and uncle said that if I wanted to get a message to them I should summon a fox and do it that way, because it would be faster than an owl.

I didn't want to summon Tsuchibue in our dorm because I thought his voice would frighten the other girls. Same thing with the common room." She hung her head in shame. "So then I went out to the halls to find a quiet place. After I summoned him we heard people coming. He left, and it was too late for me to hide or run away. So I disguised myself as Professor Snape, and he thought I was an intruder and I ran. Then another teacher came, and I jumped out a window to get away and hid in the forest."

Her head drooped lower as she spoke. Black hair hung in front of her eyes, but Snape was certain from the way she shook, and her breathing hitched, that she'd finally broken down and started crying. He silently thanked the universe that she'd waited until her mother was there to comfort her instead of him.

A mildly horrifying thought occurred to Snape. No, it was deeply horrifying. "Do you mean to tell us," he said, "that we have the _pleasure_ of housing a metamorphagus for the next seven years?"

The twins looked at each other uneasily.

"Not quite," Hibari began.

"First, let's have Suzume finish her story," Professor Dumbledore said. The little girl nodded wearily.

"When I was pretty far into the forest, I was so tired and didn't know what to do. So, I thought maybe Tsuchibue could help me get back inside the castle. I was hoping nobody noticed I was gone. So I summoned him again. Only this time he'd made himself huge and was carrying uncle inside his mouth."

"Thank you for the hot chocolate," the fox interrupted. "I never thought I'd wash the taste out."

"So then I hugged uncle and cried. And then Professor Snape came and thought I was still in danger, so they started fighting. Nobody would listen to me when I tried telling them what happened, then I saw that uncle was about to kill Professor Snape. So I used the last of my chakra to reach them with body flicker, and blocked his knives as well as I could."

"Suzume, you must never jump in the middle of a fight like that. You might have died." Hibari was looking at her daughter with something like horror.

"It's okay mom, I could see," she said. "It's hard to explain, but, I could see what was going to happen just before it happened. That's how I was able to stop two of the kunai from hitting him.

"What of the third?" Severus folded his arms across his chest. "You had no way of knowing I would deflect the last one."

Suzume nodded. "It would have messed up my face, but I wouldn't have died from it. If I ducked, it would have hit your spine. I just didn't compensate for my arms getting injured, otherwise I could have blocked it in time. There just, wasn't enough time. Thank you for keeping me safe."

"What you do mean, you were able to see it before it happened?" Her uncle interrupted. His face was drawn and pale

 _Yes,_ thought Snape, _and what do you mean by shinobi, chakra, and body flicker?_ Respectful of Dumbledore's wishes, he didn't interrupt.

Suzume bit her lip. "I could see everyone's chakra clearly." She hesitated. "People's chakra moves ahead of them, so I could see what they were going to do before it happened. I knew uncle was about to throw the knives and was able to get in between them before the professor was hit."

"Can you see it now?" Hibari gripped the arms of her chair, knuckles white.

"No."

"Try," her uncle said.

Suzume blinked her eyes and scrunched her face up. Then she relaxed her eyes. She shook her head. "I can't do it anymore."

"Your chakra is too low," Tsuchibue interjected. The little fox bounced to her shoulder, curling one of his tails around her neck. "Take some of mine and try again. Think of what made you so upset while they fought."

Snape leaned back in his chair, watching everyone through narrowed eyes. She sat, deep in concentration. Hibari and Hayato stared intently at her, as if waiting for her to sprout horns or something.

"I see now," she said.

Her eyes, her black eyes were no longer black. They were red as blood, with black comma marks on the iris. One comma in her left eye and two in the right. What kind of family was this? Snape looked suspiciously at the kitsune. It wasn't uncommon for purebloods to marry magical beings when no other purebloods were available. Were they even fully human?

Everyone stared at Suzume quietly. Hibari and Hayato's faces were deadly serious.

She got up and brushed Suzume's hair away from her face.

"You've woken your kekkei genkai," Hibari finally said.

"Hibari, you must tell her about her father," Hayato said. "Or I will. We won't be able to keep her hidden. She must know for her own safety. And her teachers should know, if she is going to stay here."


	8. Chapter 8

The entire office practically swam in chakra. Even the stones in the walls were imbued with it. Suzume stared wide eyed. Professor Dumbledore with his pale chakra, Professor Snape with his rich blue, and mom and uncle with their trademark red Akaihane chakra. Tsuchibue's warm chakra lay over her shoulders like a golden blanket.

Mom looked grave.

Suzume's heartbeat quickened. "What is his name?"

"Shisui Uchiha."

 _ _Shisui. Uchiha.__ She'd never heard either name uttered before. A torrent of new questions flooded into her mind. Who were the Uchiha? Were there others? Cousins? Grandparents? Would she get to meet him? Before she could ask anything, mom spoke again.

"He is dead."

The revelation hit her like a punch in the gut.

"You are one of the last surivors of the cursed Uchiha clan."

"Cursed?" she whispered. Fear overlayed her burning curiousity.

"Yes. I don't fully understand it. Shisui called it, 'the curse of hatred'."

"What happened to them? Did they die in the war too?" she asked. "Why did you leave?"

Mom kept talking in the same deadpan voice as if Suzume hadn't spoken. Like she was delivering a history lecture. "The Uchiha clan possesses an ability unique to their bloodline. Only some Uchiha manage to activate it. You did that tonight. I hoped you never would, but you did. It is the sharingan eye."

As if predicting what was needed just then, Professor Dumbledore conjured a small gilded mirror next to her hot chocolate. Suzume tentatively reached for it. The girl looking back at her was, it looked like her. But the eyes. They couldn't be hers. Feeling sick, she put the mirror down.

Uncle Hayato nodded. "A sharingan user gains a steep advantage over their opponents through the use of their eyes. Because of their power the Uchiha are feared by many. And fear breeds violence."

Mom visibly braced herself. "Shisui died. He left a suicide note, but his best friend, Itachi Uchiha, was blamed for his murder. Only a few days after Shisui's death, Itachi went berserk and slaughtered the rest of the Uchiha clan. Dozens of people. His own parents even. The only one spared was a single child, his younger brother Sasuke. As far as we know you three are the only heirs to the bloodline."

Suzume trembled. "Why would somebody do that? To their own family?"

Uncle folded his arms across his chest. "It's complicated, Suzume. Many believe it was the curse, but there are politics involved in everything that happens."

"No, it's not!" She stood up and shouted. "It's not complicated! It's simple! You just don't kill your own family! You don't kill your friends, or little kids! You don't kill anybody!" She felt like throwing up. Dad was dead. Everybody was dead. That Itachi guy, what a scumbag.

Worse than a scumbag.

Uncle bowed his head.

"Shisui was the darling of the Uchiha clan. He was renouned as a genius, and his eyes in particular were considered a clan treasure." he said. "Your father was a good person, Suzume. You inherited that from him. Despite being powerful and feared by many, he was very merciful. He, would have been proud to hear you say that."

She collapsed in the chair, suddenly exhausted. The sorting hat's words came back to her, and she wondered if she'd chosen the right house after all.

* * *

"How much more we say in your presence depends on whether or not Suzume will continue attending school at Hogwarts," Hayato said authoritatively. He sat up straighter and seemed in less pain now, something Severus found a little disappointing. "The less information others have about our situation, the safer she will remain. However, it is obvious now that if she is to stay in your care, you should be informed of potential threats."

"That is the most prudent course of action it seems," Dumbledore said. He took a sip of hot chocolate and dabbed at his mustache. "While she has broken a number of rules, others have done worse. Ultimately, the decision to expel her or not lies with her head of house. Severus, what are your thoughts?"

Most any other student of his would have been sent packing by now. He leaned back in his chair and surveyed the room, everyone watching him expectantly. Except Suzume. The child sat slumped in her chair, eyes downcast.

"Do you believe you deserve to stay?" he asked.

She slowly shook her head.

"Why is that?"

"You almost got killed when I broke the rules. Everyone has been up all night looking for me, and they all have to teach classes tomorrow. Today, I mean. All this happened and school hasn't even started yet."

He had to admit, those were compelling reasons. Then again she'd shown some initiative by saving his life from her wretched uncle. The fact that she was able to articulate what was wrong with her actions without rationalizing was promising.

"I will allow you to stay on a probationary basis. One __single__ act of disobedience and you will leave Hogwarts that very same day."

"Yes, sir."

"Will she still be punished? Because she certainly deserves to be." Hibari stared at her with the look all mothers gave their children before inflicting some horrible but well deserved consequence. The girl squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. Fierceness suited Hibari. He remembered vividly the way she'd flung her brother across the grounds for injuring her daughter, and kept that in mind as he formulated a punishment.

"Detention in the dungeons for the entire year, scrubbing out cauldrons," he pronounced _._

Suzume breathed a sigh of relief. Hibari shrugged and said, "that's lighter than what I was thinking, but this is your school."

"You haven't seen what forty teenagers can do to a potions lab in one day," he muttered.

Hayato fixed Suzume with a stern look. "Suzume, you will never reveal your kekkei genkai to anyone. Especially the other students. It is something that should be developed, but if the wrong people hear rumors they will come searching. You must also never say your father's name. Do not write it. Do not even say the word 'Uchiha'. The last thing we need are rumors. Shisui was well known and had many enemies who would love nothing more than to take revenge on his heir. That is why you were given your mother's last name when you were born."

"Yes, uncle." She blinked, the blazing red of her eyes fading to empty obsidian.

He turned to Dumbledore. "Not everything we have to say is for Suzume's ears. She should go back to bed." The girl was teetering on the edge of consciousness at that point anyway.

"Class begins in four hours, Miss Akaihane," Snape drawled. "Mr. Filch will escort you back to the Slytherin common room. Stop at the infirmary along the way and change into something a little less alarming to your housemates."

Dumbledore stood and kindly walked her to his office door where Mr. Filch was waiting outside. He said something to the kitsune on her shoulder, and the creature disapparated in a puff of smoke. Then he drew a wand out of his robes and handed it to the girl.

The old wizard shuffled back toward his desk. "That is certainly a curious wand," he mused, almost to himself. "Well then, it's obvious your family is not of this world. Where do we welcome you from?"

The twins seemed unsurprised at Dumbledore's conclusion.

"The nearest thing it has to a name, is _Shinobi Godaikoku_ ," Hayato said.

Hibari nodded. "Suzume was born here in Britain, but Hayato and I are refugees of that world."

Dumbledore stroked his beard. "That place is not unknown to me."

Snape wasn't sure whether or not to be surprised by that announcement. Somehow Dumbledore managed to have a finger in every pie. The twins were another matter. Instead of putting them at ease, the headmaster's words brought a frisson of tension to the room.

"Who exactly, have you had contact with?" Hibari demanded.

"When I was much younger, I encountered a Hashirama Senju, and his brother-," Dumbledore looked lost in thought for a moment.

"Tobirama," Hayato muttered. Both twins had become rigid and still, their faces carefully masking any emotion.

"Yes, that was his name." Dumbledore beamed at them. "They were nice fellows. Hashirama was very keen on establishing peace and creating a village for his clan, I remember. They were in the midst of a terrible war which led me to remove myself from contact with their world, as this world was experiencing its own turmoil at the time. I hadn't thought to check on them since then."

"They are both dead," Hayato said. He looked at Dumbledore, Snape detected a flash of doubt from the younger man. "Hashirama Senju lived over one hundred years ago."

"Yes, as I said, I met them when I was much younger."

"Forgive us," Hayato said, "but now that we know you have been in contact with other shinobi, however long ago it was, I do not think your school is the best fit for Suzume. We will continue to homeschool her instead."

"That is regretable, but I understand. As headmaster, you should know I am bound under certain obligations. One, I am not permitted to __deliberately__ endanger the students. This would include disclosing sensitive information such as we are discussing right now."

Hayato looked at Snape from the corner of his eye. "What of his obligations?"

"Severus has already demonstrated his willingness to put Suzume's safety above all else, including himself," Dumbledore said firmly. "I trust him with my life."

Hayato looked like he was about to argue. His sister silenced him with a look.

"Suzume was born in this world. She lives in this world. If fate is willing, she will never leave this world. My brother and I can teach her much, but we cannot fully prepare her for life as an adult here, in this world. Our own educations emphasized the best ways to kill others. That is not what I wanted for her."

Hayato did not look convinced. "How can we guarantee that nothing we say here will be repeated to anyone outside this room?" he said.

"They might agree to have their tongues sealed, as Danzo sealed yours," Hibari said quietly.

Snape bristled at the thought. He'd rather expel Suzume than allow such a thing. Dumbledore folded his hands on his desk.

"Could you explain what that is?"

Hayato stuck his tongue out. There were black hash marks along the back. "This was put on me when I served in an elite assassination squad, in case I defected. If I try to disclose information about past missions or other members of The Foundation, this curse mark will paralyze my body."

"No." Severus said, standing sharply. "I will _not_ allow myself to be marked." Not just no, but _hell no_. The skin on his forearm crawled where he'd already been branded with the dark mark.

"If you please Severus, sit down," Dumbledore said. "I'm sure we can find a solution acceptable to everyone."

Several alternatives were suggested, including the unbreakable vow. After it was explained that breaking it would cause the traitor's death, Hayato enthusiatically endorsed that one. Surprisingly, Hibari rejected it.

"It's too extreme," she explained. "We don't want to cause any deaths. Only prevent our exposure. Besides, it wouldn't prevent someone from using a mind control spell to force the information out, and that would unnecessarily kill one of you. If there was a way to create the same effect as Hayato's curse mark without actually marking someone's body, that would be ideal."

An idea occurred to Snape. "What about a signed contract?" he said. "A parchment could be enchanted, so that if one attempted to violate the terms a particular curse would be inflicted on the traitor." He shrugged, "perhaps a full body binding?"

In the end, the contract was chosen. Dumbledore busied himself enchanting the parchment, Hibari over his shoulder, having him explain things and adding her own markings to it. Severus watched from the corner of his eye. She tucked a long strand of silky hair out of her face, and pointed at something Dumbledore had written. Bent over the desk, and well, her clothing was not revealing. Not by any means, but the view afforded had him grateful he was wearing robes over his frock.

Hayato noticed the subtle attention his sister was receiving. While Dumbledore and Hibari's attention was on the parchment, pointedly looked at his sister, then glared at Snape while miming a slashing movement across his throat.

 _Asshole._

Snape leaned back and looked openly at Dumbledore and Hibari. He'd be damned if he was going to let some murderous twit dictate what he did with his own eyes.

She chose that moment to glance up and met his gaze. Suddenly smiling, she dipped her shoulder just so, revealing a curving expanse of creamy skin, and oh damn. His face went hot and he looked at the floor until they were finished.

Once the parchment was complete, it was decided that Severus and the headmaster would sign it and the Akaihane's would retain the right to disclose their personal information to whomever they saw fit. The full body bind was the ideal curse, as it would prevent any information being spoken or written down.

More than a little irritated at the way the entire night had progressed, not to mention the effect Suzume's mother was having on him, Severus finally scrawled his name at the bottom of the parchment just underneath Dumbledore's.

"So," he said, "are we finally allowed to learn how a first year was able to assume my form, perform feats of athleticism that would make a troll jealous, summon a powerful magical creature, and teleport, all without the use of a wand?"


	9. Chapter 9

A thin smile creased paper white skin. One eye opened, slit pupil dilating to better take in the dim light. He paused in the silence of his lair. Uncharacteristic silence, for there were times that this place was filled with delightful screams, the salt tang of blood wafting through his halls.

Something twinged deep in his brain. The sense that a seal had broken, somewhere far away. Almost so far as to be undetectable.

 _Almost._

His grin went wider.

The young Uchiha Sasuke regarded him disinterestedly through slightly parted bangs.

"The little bird is finally learning to fly," Orochimaru rasped. He debated whether or not to mention details of his side project to the Uchiha. He didn't exactly _need_ Hibari's child anymore. Not since he'd secured Sasuke's beautiful body. Yet, with so few Uchiha remaining, and the child being sired by Shisui himself, it could prove to be interesting.

Perhaps he should meet the little brat.

Maybe even lend it a bit of a favor.

Sensing his rising excitement, Sasuke slowed and shot him with a sideways glance. The boy didn't understand what he meant. It wouldn't hurt for him to know. Then again, the prospect of other living Uchiha might distract Sasuke from his mission to become strong enough to kill Itachi.

The boy didn't need distractions. Not yet. Orochimaru let his gaze slide over the lithe young man. He just needed to concentrate on strengthening that body, so it was ready in time.

And yet, perhaps Sasuke should come on their little excursion. He didn't like having the Uchiha out of his sight for too long.

* * *

Hayato pulled a small black book from his vest pocket.

Hibari blinked in surprise. "You still have your Bingo Book?"

He nodded, turning to Snape. "We will answer your questions. For now, this is a book of people I was instructed to assassinate or gather information on." He opened it to a certain page. "Because of my curse mark I cannot give specific information about my missions, but some individuals who pose a threat to Suzume are pictured here."

He passed the book to Snape. The picture on the open page was a muggle photo of a man with long straight black hair, paper white skin, and yellow eyes with slits for pupils. Inwardly he shuddered. It was like The Dark Lord but with hair. And a nose.

"That is Lord Orochimaru," Hibari said. She rubbed the back of her neck. "He is obsessed with the power of the Uchiha clan. With so few heirs to that bloodline remaining, Suzume is in great danger if he ever learns of her existence. He is known for kidnapping people with unusual abilities and subjecting them to horrific experiments in order to gain their powers."

One of the last pages in the book was Itachi Uchiha. He looked remarkably like Suzume. Straight black hair, fair skin, and blood red eyes.

"We do not know how Itachi would respond to Suzume," Hayato said. "Considering what he did to the rest of the Uchiha clan, I hope we never find out."

Severus flipped through the remaining pages. Many, many of the pictures were x'd out. One of them caught his eye. It was another black haired man with red eyes. Unlike most of the other people in the photos, he was smiling pleasantly.

"That is Suzume's father," Hayato said quietly.

They had the same eyes. The same shape, the same upward turn at the outside corners.

"I see the resemblance," Severus murmured. Hibari stared at him with a mix of horror and confusion.

"Why is Shisui in your Bingo Book?" She turned to her brother accusingly, "Why would Danzo put him in there? He was a loyal Konoha shinobi!"

Hayato grimaced and shook his head. He wrestled with the words, searching for something the curse mark would allow him to say. "We were loyal Konoha shinobi, and look what Konoha has done to us."

Hibari went pale, crestfallen at first. Then shot up out of her chair. Red hair flying around her the way it did when she was flying toward Severus and Suzume out on the castle grounds. "Let me tell you," she snarled. "About the most dangerous man. He is not in Hayato's bingo book, because he wrote that book. Hayato cannot say anything about him, but _I_ can."

Dumbledore leaned forward, his eyes focused and his expression grim. "I think you'd better tell us as much as you know."

"In our world, there is no division between wizards and muggles," Hibari said, pacing between the window and Dumbledore's desk. "Magic is weaponized and unregulated. Times of peace are unstable and violent. Children, both magical and not, are trained as soldiers from a young age.

"My brother and I were born in a village called Uzushiogakure. Several other nations deemed the village too powerful to exist and came to destroy it. Hayato and I were only nine years old when this happened. We fought alongside our parents, who were both slaughtered in the destruction of Uzu."

Hayato coughed, and said in a rough voice, "After Uzu's destruction, we were the only Akaihanes left.

"Hashirama Senju, who you met, succeeded in creating his village. The Senju clan are cousins of the Uzumaki clan, and close allies of our home village. Since our mother was also an Uzumaki we hoped to find refuge there."

Dumbledore pressed his fingertips together, looking thoughtful. "So you are relatives of Hashirama?"

"Distantly. We are more closely related to his wife, Mito Uzumaki. She came from Uzu, like us," Hayato said.

"I see, thank you." The headmaster waved his finger, refilling their mugs with fresh hot chocolate.

Suzume's mother did not touch her hot chocolate. "We made it safely to Konoha," she said. "The village was full of refugees, many war orphans like us. An elder in the village named _Danzo_ was recruiting orphans to train for his personal assassination squad." Her face twisted with anger as she said his name. "Ultimately, he chose Hayato. I eventually joined the medical corps.

My brother was treated with great cruelty, eventually forced to fight his closest friend to the death. Danzo did this to all the children in his care. In his mind, those who could not kill their friends were too weak to serve him."

A steely gleam lit Dumbledore's eye. His shoulders stiffened, and he sat up a little straighter. "That does not sound like the village Hashirama envisioned," he said gravely.

"The hokage and other elders didn't know," Hayato replied. "We answered strictly to Danzo. He alone oversaw our training. His reason for recruiting orphans is nobody questions their disappearance. If they even notice. He alone is responsible for all orders issued to The Foundation."

The old wizard pressed his fingertips together, looking grim and deep in thought. "Aside from your association with him, what ties does Danzo have to Suzume?"

Hibari bit her lip, hesitant. "I am certain he was involved in the Uchiha massacre and Shisui's death somehow. Knowing now that Shisui was in his book. . ." She shook her head. "Soon after the Uchiha massacre, some of Danzo's men captured me in my home. He traded me to Lord Orochimaru. Somehow he knew I carried an Uchiha child."

Hayato finally looked up, his face more grim than Snape had seen it. "After Danzo's betrayal, I abandoned Konoha to rescue my sister. No torture he inflicted could break the bond I share with her. Now I am a marked traitor. If I am ever found, the penalty is death.

"With his assassination squad in pursuit, our only option was to join Orochimaru, or find a way to escape that world completely. Our fox summons assisted us in reaching this world, so that Suzume could be born and live in peace."

"That is why we came to Hogwarts so quickly," Hibari said. "Suzume would be exploited or killed because of who her father was. It's unlikely anyone will find her, but it's a fear we have lived with for the past eleven years."

"How do we recognize this Danzo person?" Dumbledore said.

"Unfortunately, I have no photographs," Hayato said. "However, I can show you. This may answer your question about Suzume being a metamorphmagus." He stood and clasped his hands together a few different ways. Smoke surrounded him, then cleared to reveal an older, brown haired man with bandages over half his face and his arm in a sling. "This is how he looked, last I saw him."

Snape stared, suddenly comprehending. "Suzume is able to do that as well." It wasn't a question. Snape settled into his chair, not willing to believe it was possible. Yet it had happened.

Hibari stood in response, transforming herself into a doppelganger of Dumbledore. "Yes." She did it again, this time assuming Suzume's appearance. "This is a very basic technique taught to children in our world. Anybody coming to harm her will be more than able to utilize it."

Somehow, the mere existence of such a spell irritated him to no end. It essentially negated the need for polyjuice potion.

"Obviously we will need to put a password in place, for her safety. Someone could easily impersonate one of you two and simply remove her from the school," Snape said.

"Exactly," Hibari said. "I was glad to see you thought of that so quickly out on the grounds when I first confronted you. It gives me confidence that she will be safe in your care."

Again, he felt his face beginning to flush and fought it down. It wasn't becoming for the Hogwarts Potions Master to sit there blushing like a spring rose.

"What level of magical proficiency can we expect from these, criminals?" he asked, indicating the bingo book.

"You will die," Hayato croaked. "They are beyond anything you can imagine."

"Orochimaru gave up his humanity in exchange for immortality long ago," Hibari said. "He has no regard for human life, however, if he finds you interesting he may spare you. For a time."

"Itachi and Danzo are the most ruthless. They will not hesitate to murder anyone who stands between them and their goal." Suzume's uncle bowed his head and peered at Snape through jagged bangs. "Do not try to fight them. If you can, disappear. Like you did with Suzume in the forest. I was not able to track you. They won't be able to either. Not right away."

Snape glanced up at Dumbledore. The older wizard's gaze was hard, and looking far into the distance. He wished he knew more about their magic. He wished that murderous old bastards would leave his students alone. Harry Potter was just beginning his first year as well. One dark lord was bad enough.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thanks for following along, and sorry that it has been so long between updates. So there's a little more background on Suzume's family. Their clan name loosely translates to red feather.


End file.
